| Daily activity report for Thursday, June 3
By DAVID GRENING
ELMONT, N.Y. - Pete Van Trump, the exercise rider of Smarty Jones, said
the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner was on the muscle during his 1
1/2-mile gallop early Thursday morning. Smarty Jones galloped alongside
his stable pony, Butterscotch, ridden by trainer John Servis.
"He was actually pretty tough this morning," Van Trump said. "He's been
galloping with a pony off and on, and today he was tough as nails. He
put it together today where he was a little bit laid back the last
couple of days at Philly."
The gallop was the first time Smarty Jones had ever been on the track
here.
"He bounced over it, kind of like at Churchill Downs," Servis said.
Van Trump, 39, said Smarty Jones has maintained his fitness and
sharpness since the Preakness.
"I don't see any difference in the way he went today than the way he
went into the Preakness,'' Van Trump said.
Smarty Jones was scheduled to gallop again on Friday, and visit the
starting gate. After that, there would be just the long, 36-hour wait
until Saturday's race.
"It's not pressure. It's more anxiety," Servis said Thursday. "Our whole
team wishes the race was today. We're a lot farther than any of us
expected to be. The chance to make history is starting to set in."
|
